Releasable well packer



- Jan. 30, 1945. R, c. BAKER ma nms uame: WELL PACKERV 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed Nov. 14, 1941 .v F Mm w, a Q 4 m 5..

\\\\ I l 1 A 1 Arrow/saw,

dition within a well casing;

f Patented Jan. 30,1945

BELEASABLE WELL month Reuben C. Baker, Coalinga, Calif., assignor toVernon, Calif., a corpo- Baker Tools, Inc. ration of CaliforniaApplicationNovember 14, 1941. sem so. 419,051

v 8. Claims. ('01. 166-12) I The present inventionrelates towellpackers', on an enlarged scale of part and more particularly topackers cf'the releasable type capable of employment in the performanceof many operations in a well bore,'including the cementing, acidizing orrepressuring' of oil wells,-testing casing for holes, and testingformations for fluid permeability, break down pressures, orproductivity.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved well packercapable of being set, released and reset mechanically in a casingwithout the necessity for withdrawing it to the surface of the wellbore.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved wellpacker adapted to have its packing and anchoring members mechanicallyset against the. wall of a casing, and inwhloh such packing andanchoring vmembers are also mechanically releasable from suchengagement.

A further object of the inventionis to provide an improved well packerhaving packing and anchoring members adapted for engagement with I r thewell casing, in which these members areall releasable positively fromthe surface of the well =bore through rotation of a tubular stringattached to the well packer.

Another object of'the invention is to maintain the packing and anchoringmembers of a well packer locked in retracted position while the packeris being lowered or elevated in a well bore,

and to preclude unlocking thereof upon mad-"- vertent turning of thetubular string to which the well packer is attached.

v The invention has other objects that will become apparent from aconsideration ofthe embodiment shown in the drawings accompanying andforming part of the present 'speciflcatiom This form will now bedescribed in detail, but

: it is to be understood that such detailed description is not to betaken in a limited 'sense, since the scope of the invention isbest'defined claims appended hereto.

Referring to the drawings: Figure 1 is a longitudinal view, partly insec tion and partly in elevation, of a well packer with by the r itsparts in retracted position for movement through a well bore or casing;

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 with the packer disclosed asanchored in packed on con- Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 1, withcertain of the packer parts disclosed in still another relativeposition;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary longitudinal section 66 of the devicedisclosed in Figure 3; I I Figure-5 is a side elevation as seen from'theright of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a section taken along the line 6-8 in Figure 4;

Figure '7 is a cross-section taken along the line 1-1 in Figure 3; and

Figure 8 is a cross-section taken along the line 8+4! in Figure 3. r

The well packer A is adapted to be run in a well bore or casing B on theend of a tubular running-in string C threadedly or otherwise attachedtovthe upper end of the tubular mandrel .lfl ofthe packer. 'Forconvenience of manufacture, this mandrel is made in two parts, with itslower section I! welded or otherwise suitably attached to the uppersection l2. The lower section H A is provided with external left handthreads I3 engaging companion threads at the enlarged upper end ll ofthe tubular body it of the packer.

' The lower section 16 of this body is reduced in diameter to provide anabutment l1 adapted to cooperate with an inturned flange [8 formed onthe lower end of a tapered expander I!) mounted, on the body l5. A key20 is secured to the exterior of the enlarged body'portion ll forreception within a keyway 2i in the expander so as to permit relativelongitudinal movement be- 'member 23 is threaded on the lower end of thebody. This packing actuator is movable toward the expander IQ for thepurpose of engaging the lower end of the packing sleeve 24 surroundingthe body and forcing it against the underside of the expander I9 andoutwardly against the casing B, to effect an annular seal between it andthe body l5.

A plurality of slips 25 is disposed around the mandrel [0 forcooperation with the tapered expander IS in moving to and from anchoringengagement with the wall of the casing. Each of these slips has wickers26 on its exterior surface adapted to grip the casing, and an interiortapered surface co'operable-with a companion tapered surface 28comprising the bottom of a channel 29 formed in the expander, so thatrole tive longitudinal movement between the expander I9 and slips 25moves the latterradially to and from the casing. For the purpose ofholding the slips properly assembled on the expander 19 and within thechannels 29, they are formed with outwardly and oppositely directedtongues 3B fitting within grooves 31 formed in the sides of-thechannels. Because of this construction, the slips 25 are keyed to theexpander to permit relative sliding movement therebetween in positivelyshifting the slips both toward'and away from the casing. The extent ofoutward movement of each slip 25 upon moving downwardly on the expanderi9 is limited by a stop screw- 32 on the latter-member movable within alongitudinal groove 33 in the underside of the slip and engageable withthe end 3 3 of this groove.

w The slips 25 are held together for 'joint movement along the taperedexpander i9 and from engagement with the casing by providing recessesextending fingers '36 for guiding the slips radially to" and from thecasing, and for preventing their longitudinal movement except in unisonby engaging the ends of the recesses-35. 'Ihese fingers 3B are integralwith a sleeve fl! s'lidable on the mandrel l0, which has an upper set ofoutwardly extending fingers 38 for receiving heads 39 providedon theupper ends of the sli'ps'engageable with agstop ring .40. secured aroundthe upper fingers 38 by screws 4! or thelike, for the purpose oflimiting the extent of'outward movement of the slips 25 and to hold themin assembled position.

This sleeve 31, a and the slips 25 assembled thereon, are'coupled to adrag and lock device. This device consists of a lock collar 42 slidableon the mandrel l and having a J or other suitably shaped slot 43 formedtherein for the purp se of receiving a lock pin 44 fastened to themandrel. A plurality of circumferentially spaced outwardly'bowed springs45 are disposed around the mandrel with their lower ends resting on thelowerportion of the locking collar and held thereagainst in assembledposition by a ring 65 fastened to this portion of the collar by aplurality of screws ll. The upper ends of the springs are secured to aslidable upper drag collar 48 by an upper ring 49 suitably fastened tothe collar, as by the screws 59. v

The drag and locking device is coupled to the slip assembly by means ofa sectional tie or coupling ring secured to the locking collar 42 by thescrews 52, and having a lower lnturned flange 53 receiving and fittingunder an external flange 54 at the upper end of the slip sleeve 31.Rotation of the tubular string C, mandrel Ill and drag device ispermitted without corresponding rotation of the slipv assembly sleeve 31and slips 25,

due to the swivel type of connection provided by the lower end 53 of thecoupling ring Si and sleeve flange 54.

The well packer is run in the well casing on the end of the-tubularstring C, with the locking pin 44 positioned in the locking foot portion55 of the J-slot 43, so as to hold the slips 25 in an upward retractedposition on' the tapered expander I 9, and the packing sleeve 24 inretracted- .well bore) so as to position the pin 4.4 .at'the 35 in theirside faces which receive outwardly aaeacoo lower end of the longitudinalleg portion 56 of the J-slot at its point of juncture with the footportion 55, which will then allow the mandrel ill to be shifted upwardlywithin the locking collar 42. Such upward movement of the mandrel l8 andits connected body I5 is obtained by elevating the tubular string C,which movement is transmitted through the packing sleeve 24 to elevatethe tapered expander 19 within the slips Since these slips are heldstationary by the friction action of the drag springs d5 against thecasing, upward movement of theexpandcr it within the slips forces thelatter outwardly into engagement with the casing. After the slips haveengaged th casing, the espander can no longer move upwardly, but themandrel ill and body 55 can still be elevated due to the slidable keycon nection 2B, 2! between the body and expander.

A continuation of the upward movement of themandrel and body can thencompress the paclring sleeve 2 between the expander l9 and guide 23,forcing it into sealing engagement with the casing B (see Figure 2). r

The tool now anchored in packed oil condition within the well casing,preventing fluid pumped down through the tubular string to a point belowthe packer from passing around it or forcing the packer up the casing.Pressure exerted from below on the well packer forces the guide 23 morefirmly against the packing it and causes it to seal ofi to a, greaterextent against the casing B and body l5, and also acts through thepacking to wedge the expander 19 more firmly into the slips 25 andattach them more securely to the casing. v

If it is thereafterdesired to release the well packer from the casing,the tubular string C is merely lowered to correspondingly lower themandrel l0 and body I5 with respect to the slips 25 and-expander 19. Asthe guide '23 is lowered away from the packing 24 the latter ispermitted release of this wedged expander, the slips disengage from thecasing. Lowering oi the body and expander sufiiciently moves the slipsinward 1y to their fully retracted position, due to the coaction of thesides of the grooves 3! in the ex-.

pander with the tongues 39 on the sides of the slips. It is againpointed out that the de vice tends to resist longitudinal movement ofthe slips, so that the lowering of the expander is accompanied byforcible retraction of the slips away from the casing back to theapproximate retracted position disclosed in Figure 1.

The lowering of the mandrel III for the purpose of retracting the slipsand packing positions the locking pin 44 at the lower end of thelongitudinal leg portion 55 of the J-slot once again, al-

' lowing the turning of the. tubular string C ina clockwise direction(as seen from the surfaceoi the well bore) to again position the lockpin 44 at the end of the locking foot portion 54 of the slot, preventingmaterial lon udi al o eme between the packer parts to occur. With theparts in this position, it is apparent that the drag device, 45, 48, 42is forced to move with the mandrel Ill longltudinally'through thecasing. The

friction springs 45 have sumcient tension to resist movement of theslips .2! when it is desired to .set or release them, but this frictionis of insuificient magnitude to prevent lowering or elevation of thewell packer asa unit through the well casing.

Should release of the packer from its set posi- .tween the lower mandrelpart II and body I4 is preferably a left hand one, such forciblelongitudinal movement isinduced through turning of the tubular string ina clockwise direction.

If the --well packer A cannot be released upon imposing a downwardlydirected force on it through lowering of the tubular string, the casingengaging packer parts 24, 25 are held with sufflcient force as toprevent their rotation, Thus,

. the slips 25 cannot rotate in the casing, and due' to their manner ofassembly on the expander l9, they correspondingly prevent this memberfrom rotating. Similarly, the key connection 20, 2| between the expanderand body l5 prevents the latter from turning, although it will permitrelative longitudinal movement between the two members to occur.Rotation of the tubular string and mandrel threads the lower mandrelsection I I' from the body l5 to effect this relative longitudinalmovement. As these members move in relatively opposite directions due tothe rotation of the mandrel, an outwardly directed flange or abutment 51at the upper end of the lower mandrel section II engages the undersideof theslip sleeve 31-,and through the fingers 26 exerts a screwconnection. between the mandrel l0 and packer body l5. 1 v i It maysometimes occur that the lower portion of the tool is entirely cementedin or frozen to the casing, precluding release of the entire tool evenupon employing the jack screw feature Should this situation arise,rotation of the tubular string would be continued until the lowermandrel II was entirely unscrewed from the packer body l5, whereupon allof the tool parts with the exception of the body l5, expander l9,packing sleeve 24, and guide 23 can be' removed from the well casing.The elements specifically listed are made of drillable materials andareremovable from the well casing, if necessary, by a suitable drillingoperation, ina well known manner. Since the expander l9'is mad orreadily I drillable material, complete unscrewing of the mandrelwill'elevate'the slips 25 and cause their tongues to break off the outerside of the grooves 3| from the remainder-ofthe expander, therebyfreeing the slipsfrom the expander. If desired, however, the parts canbe so arranged and proportioned as to allow the slips 25 to be removedcompletely from the expander l9 and its grooves upon completeunthreading of the mandrel I2 from the body I6.

The tool may also incorporate a device for pre- 1 venting. its unlockinguntil desired. To achieve this purpose, a coil actuating spring 6|!surrounds the mandrel ID with its lower end attached to the upper dragcollar 48 by the screw 6| and its upper end attached by a screw 62 to aring 63 suitably force on the slips 25.- Such longitudinal movetheexpander flange f 8, causing further rotation of the tubular string andmandrel to forcibly move the expander and slips relatively in directionsaway from each other, and move the slips forcibly inwardly along thetapered surface 25 of the expander to their retracted position. The wellpacker is now free from the casing and may be removed to the surface ofthe well bore (see Figure 3).

' It is to be noted that the lock pin 44 is in the longitudinal J-slotportion 56 while the tubular string C is being rotated, effectivelycoupling the mandrel Ill and drag device 45, 42 for rotation together.Although the springs 45 resist movement of the drag collars 48, 42 andslips 25, they do not exert sufficient frictional force to prevent 'mentalso engages the'body abutment I! with rotation of the entire dragassembly with the.

tubular string. However, such rotation is not accompanied by rotation.of the slips 25 and tapered expander is, because of the swivelconnection 53, 54 provided between the drag assembly and the slip ring5|. v

It is therefore apparent that a releasable well packer hasbeen providedcapable of being set mechanically in packed'ofl condition within a wellcasing, and normally released from such set position by merely loweringthe tubular string to which the packer is attached. In the event thatinsufficient force can be exerted to effect release through ,a merestraight lowering of the tubular string, the force available atthe-surface of the well bore can be greatly multiplied by turnfastenedto the mandrel If] by another screw 64. The coil spring is so wound asto exert a turning force on the drag device tending to move it to theright or counter-clockwise (as seen fromthe surface of the well bore) soas to hold the end of the locking slot portion 55 against the lockingpin 44, and yieldably prevent inadvertent rotational movement betweenthis pin 44 and looking collar 42, which might position the pin in thelongitudinal or unlocking portion '56 of the- J-slot; a relationshipessential to setting of the tool. I r

I claim:

l. A well device, which includes a tubular body, an expander slidablymounted on said body, means cooperable with said expander for anchoringsaid device in a-well casing, a rotatable tubular mandrel, meansconnecting said mandrel to said body whereby rotation of said mandrelwith respect to said body is adapted to effect relative longitudinalmovement between said body and mandrel, and means on saidrotatable-mandrel and body for transmitting such longitudinal.

movement to both said anchoring means and expander to forcibly move themrelatively to each other in longitudinal directions away from each otherto retract said anchoring means from anchoring engagement with the wellcasing.

- 2. A well device, which includes a tubular body,

expander means slidably keyed on said body,-

means cooperable with said expander means for anchoring said device in awellcasing, a tubular.

mandrel threaded attached to said body, ,an abutment on said bodyadapted toengage one of said means, an abutment on said mandrel adaptedto upon relative rotation between said mandrel and ing the tubularstring, through use of the jack ll body to cause saidabutments to engagesaid expander means and anchoring means and forcibly move themrelatively to each other vi i-longitudinal I directions away from eachother to retract said anchoring means from anchoring engagement with thewell casing.

3. A well device, which includes a tubular body, a tapered expanderslidably keyed on said body,

slips cooperable with said expander for anchoring said device in a wellcasing, means coupling said slips for movement in unison, a tubularmandrel threadedly attached to said body,'an abut ment on said body forengagement with said exdirections away from each other to retract saidslips from anchoringengagement with the well casing.

4. A well device, which includes a tubular body, a tapered expanderslidably keyed on said body,

- slips cooperable with said expander for anchoring said device ina wellcasing, a tubular mandrel threadedly attached to said body, meansslidable on said mandrel and coupling said slips for movement in unison,an abutment on said.

body for engagement with said expander, an abutment on said mandrel forengagement with said coupling means, said abutments engaging saidexpander and coupling means upon relative rotation between said mandreland body to forcibly move said expander and slips relatively to eachother in longitudinal directions away from each other to retract saidslips from anchoring engagement with. the well casing, and meansengageable with said casing for resisting longitudinal movement of saidslips therewithin.

5. A well device, which includes a tubular body,

' anexpander slidably keyed on said body and provided with portionsinclined upwardly and inwardly, slips engaging and movable along saidin-' clined expander portions for anchoring said device in a well casingmeans above said expander coupling said slips for movement in unison, atubular mandrel threadedly attached to said body and extending upwardlytherefrom, an abutment on said body for engagement with said expander,

an abutment on said mandrel for engagement with said coupling means,said abutments engaging said expander and coupling means upon rela-'tive rotation between said mandrel and 'bodyto forcibly move said;expander and slips relatively from each other to retract said slips fromanchor- 'ing engagement with the well casing.

to each other in longitudinal directions away,

ed on said mandrel supporting said slips with respect to said expander;friction. means adapted to frictionally engage said well casing slidableon said mandrel and rotatively coupled to said sleeve to permit saidfriction means to rotate without corresponding rotation of said slips,said friction means resisting longitudinal movement of said slips insaid casing, whereby upward longitudinal movement of said mandrel andbody ment of said mandrel relative to said body, and

selectively positionable locking instrumentalities onsaid mandrel andfriction means for-prevent ing relative longitudinal movement betweensaid slips and expander or to permit such movement. "I. A well device,which includes a tubular body. av

expander means slidable on said body, means cooperable with saidexpander'means for anchoring said device in a well casing, a tubularmandrel, an attachment securing said mandrel to said body, an abutmenton-said body adapted to engage one of'said means, an abutment on saidmandrel adapted to engage the other of said means, said attachment beingsuch as to effect relative longitudinal movement between .said mandreland body upon relative rotation between said mandrel and body to causesaid abutments to engage said expander means and anchoring means andforcibly move them relatively to each other in longitudinal directionsaway from each other to retract said anchoring means from anchoringengagement with the well casing.

8. A well device, which includes a tubular body. an expander slidable'on said body, slips cooperable with said expanderfor anchoring saiddevice in a well casing, means coupling said slips for movement inunison, a tubular mandrel,-an at tachment securing said mandrel to saidbody, an abutment on said body for engagement with said expander, anabutment on said mandrel for engagement with said coupling means, saidat- .tachment between said mandrel and body beingsuch as to efiectrelative longitudinal movement between said mandrel and body uponrelative rotation between said mandrel and body to cause said abutmentsto engage said expander and coupling means and forcibly move saidexpander and slips relatively to eachother in longitudinal directionsaway from each other to retract said slips from anchoring engagementwith the well casing.

REUBEN C. BAKER.

